


More Than Infinite

by tnnyoh



Category: BioShock Infinite
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-03-20 16:51:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13721955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnnyoh/pseuds/tnnyoh
Summary: Elizabeth and Booker find themselves lost in a reality where they never died, a clean slate, they believe.  The two start co-running Booker's P.I service in a modern day New York.





	1. The Case Begins

**Author's Note:**

> It's safe to say that this fic will have extreme spoilers for Bioshock Infinite and it's DLCs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all started when a man came into DeWitt Investigations, Booker and Elizabeth thought Columbia and Rapture was the end of it, but it wasn't, not by a long shot.

During New York's hottest summer, a young man comes to DeWitt Investigations, looking like all sorts of trouble.   Elizabeth opened the door and let him in, he was mid-to late twenties and blonde hair with a haunted look in his eyes.

"What the job?" Booker asked the man without looking up from papers on his desk

The man nervously looked around the room, first at Elizabeth, and then at Booker.  Elizabeth put a hand on the man's shoulder and gently led him to the chair in front of Booker "It's alright to take a seat" She said "We're here to help you.  But we can't do that unless you tell us a little about yourself"

He sat down in the chair, his eyes darting around "I apologize miss and mister, I just ain't never done something like this and..."

"Say no more" Booker said, holding up a hand "I understand how daunting it must be to come here. but you'll get past that real quick.  Whats your name?"

"It's Charles Jeffery, Mister"

"and whats a fine young man like yourself doing in a place like this?" Elizabeth asked, sitting on the edge of the desk with her legs crossed. She took a puff on her cigar and slowly blew the smoke out of her mouth.

"I think... I think someone is trying to kill me.  I've been feeling like I was followed all this week, and strange things keep on happening to my friends, family, anyone I'm around, anywhere I go, strange happenings"

"You got a reason someone would want to harm you?" Booker asked, again without looking up from his papers.

Charles looked flustered "I-I don't know Mister, I just... I been seeing things all week"

"Seeing things like what?" Elizabeth asked the man, he looked nervous, a little too nervous for Booker's liking.  A man that nervous always has something to hide.

"You'll think I'm out of my mind" He said, eyes darting from Booker to Elizabeth

Elizabeth responded by reaching out to gently touch the mans shoulder "We've seen everything, so you can tell us anything"

He seemed to relax, that was good.  Booker liked having Elizabeth in the office with him to work on cases, they always worked together well back in the Columbia days and she was able to keep some of the most erratic clients of his calm with her peaceful demeanor, some of which she had lost through the years, but her heart was still good.

"Alright, I'll tell ya, It all started two months back.  some woman out on the street. Think she was a beggar or something... her clothes looked ratty, worn... Dirty" He recalled

"We don't need all the details, just give us the gist" Booker said, starting to get impatient

"I think she cursed me" He said finally "She said all this weird shit to me and after that encounter, my life hasn't been the same"

"Curses?" Booker asked, finally looking up at the man and raising an eyebrow "We don't deal in curses"

Elizabeth put her finger up "Now Booker, don't turn him away just because you don't believe in curses. Anything is possible" She smiled at the man "Just write down the information if your uncomfortable talking about it, many of our clients are.  We just need some of the more important facts, date, time, location and any names you can think of."  She leaned over on the desk and opened a drawer, pulling out papers and handing them to the man "Fill these out in the next room and we'll come to collect them when you're finished"

"Do I- I don't got to stay here when I write this up, Do I?" He asked, rising out of his seat and grasping the papers to his chest.

"No, you are free to leave, but do leave a contact number you feel safe with us having."  The man nodded and walked out of the room, backwards at first and then he finally felt safe turning forward.

"He's a nutjob, Elizabeth. This case is already a bust.  I don't understand why you took it"

Elizabeth looked his way, Booker looked half the age he truly was, almost as young as the man who had just left.  "After all we've seen, Booker" She hopped off the desk and made for the window "It's astounding that you can't believe that man could have been cursed"

"He's probably just a drug addict looking to waste our time" Booker shook his head

"You're in no position to turn away clients" She smirked "This case is just what we've been waiting for"

He sighed "Fine, we'll take the case.  But I stand by my assessment, this is a waste of time and something tells me he's lighting up the tilt sign"

"Booker" Elizabeth started "Take a man for his honesty, they all come here broken and alone, some of them scared. We'll find out if he's lying when we dig into this"

"Fine" He said "We should check on those papers"


	2. The Investigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Booker and Elizabeth go over the notes for their new case, while Booker also muses about how they've come to be again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Bioshock Infinite, Burial At Sea and Bioshock one included.

They were going over the files they had the man fill out, Booker scoffed as he flipped through the papers "This guy is out of his mind. If I had a nickle for everyone whose come in here claiming they've been bewitched-"

"You'd what?" Elizabeth asked "Have a nickle?"

"Ha ha, very funny. Come on Elizabeth, you can't honestly believe this guy was cursed. Look at the way he talks about this" He read out from the notes section on the papers "It all started when I was walking down the street, I was minding my own business, it was dark and stormy out that night"

"I mean first he said it happened at night, then on page two of his notes he says it was in the day time, the man can't even stick to his own story."

"He just seems frazzled to me, if what he says is true. And I believe it is, being scared out of your wits will make you act a little paranoid. Not everyone is shooting up, Booker."

"I'm just saying, I had better cases in Rapture"

"That wasn't you"

"I know it wasn't, but I remember it well enough to know I had better cases in Rapture"

"What, a woman stole a teddy bear and a splicer lost his apple?" Elizabeth read the notes over Booker's shoulder "Raptures not exactly the finest in world mysteries."

"Har Har" He replied "Stop reading over my shoulder."

"Why?" She asked "It's my case too"

"Yeah, but I don't like people looking over my shoulder, you got people trying to shoot you, you get a bit paranoid"

"You think I'm going to shoot you?" Elizabeth asked with a chuckle, grabbing the papers from the desk and scanning the information

"You drowned me and let a Big Daddy drill into my stomach"

"You let me drown you" She shrugged "And that last one wasn't you."

"It's all down to semantics with you, isn't it?" Booker asked, shaking his head.

Elizabeth and him were in a very strange place in the universe, having both died multiple times across multiple timelines. Honestly the whole thing gave him a headache, no matter how many times she tried to explain what was happening. First he was not, and then suddenly, he was again. Elizabeth as well.

He remembered the first few weeks of them being back, being alive. All the things they remembered, did they happen? Was this a dream? Was all of that a dream?

His mind was a puzzle of memories, his own, the Comstock from Columbia, the Vox Populi martyr, and the man who ran away from his life to Rapture when he was responsible for the death of another man's child.

None of this would have happened if it wasn't for the Lutece twins, that was something both he and Elizabeth could agree on. Of their adventures in Columbia, the Luteces were directly responsible, though of course it wasn't intentional.

They both existed in separate worlds, discovering a way to communicate through those worlds to share in each others intellect, they wanted more, Rosalind Lutece worked with Comstock in order to fund her research and because of that partnership she discovered how to open tears into new worlds. Booker didn't really understand the science behind it all, but he knew that when Comstock went through with his baptism, he came out a changed man, wanting to repent for all the sins he committed during the war.

He thought he could see the future, and that future told him that he needed an heir for Columbia, He remembered when Elizabeth was explaining this to him for the third time, sounding a bit exasperated

"So this heir, it was me. Comstock knew that somewhere out there in another world, one of him had a child. He wasn't able to produce a child because of his obsessive use of Lutece's machine. It... made him sick."

"So does going through these tears affect the health of the people that do?" Booker asked

"Not the way we did it, it wasn't the tears making him ill. It was a byproduct of the machine itself." She explained "So he was sick, right? And because of his religious awakening he's terrified that if he doesn't do what the propchecy, which is really just him seeing the possibilities in different timelines, that something will happen to him, or the world. He's desperate, and on another side of the coin, the Lutece Twins are desperate as well."

"Selfish, more like it" He grunted

"We're all a little selfish sometimes" Elizabeth responded "They were both desperate to find each other, I believe they felt lost without the part of themselves they felt they were missing, being in the same reality would fix that, and they would have done anything to fix it. So they made a deal with Comstock"

"And that means we're alive, how?"

"I'm getting to that" She said, giving him a look "Comstock and Rosalind made a deal, she got her funding for the machine and in return, Comstock gets an heir. Since Robert was from your reality, he was the one who was able to 'make a deal' with you."

"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt"

"Exactly, so Robert and Anna both come through the tear, but Anna's finger gets cut off through the tear and for a tiny moment, she existed in multiple realities. Which is why I can open up tears and even create ones out of nothing"

"I find it weird that you're talking about her like she's not you"

"Well, in a sense, she isn't." Elizabeth shrugged "It's also easier for me to think of it this way, less of a headache."

"You get those too?"

"Not from the inability to understand it, but the infinite possibilities and realities, it's a little overwhelming. Even when I was omniscient."

"So about that 'being alive' thing?"

"Getting there" Elizabeth said, shaking her head again "Anna and Robert come through, Comstock gets an heir and Rosalind gets her brother, they work happily together and make fantastical discoveries but then they discover that it has unwanted after effects. Comstock wants to hide what he did, he hires Fink to kill the twins but because a mistake, the machine doesn't kill them, it scatters them."

"Scatters them?"

"Booker, I've explained this to you before"

"Probably, but I don't understand"

"Scatters them across worlds, remember the lighthouses? All of those were doors to different worlds, and in each world the Lutece twins were, and were not."

"And what does this have to do with how we're alive now?"

"I told you, I'm getting to that. But I have to make sense of it in my own head first"

She took a deep breath "Comstock, as you know, also tried to pin the death of Lady Comstock on Daisy Fitzroy because he was trying to cover up what he did, and Lady Comstock, as you know thought I wasn't her daughter, which is true, but... Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself here. He covers it up, but Robert wants to change this, he has regrets, guilts"

"Don't we all" Booker said, an underlying tone of sarcasm in his voice

"So he tries to convince Rosalind to help bring Anna back to the reality she belongs, Rosalind has guilt as well, she wants to change what has happened but she doesn't think it will change, you know, constants and variables."

"Of course" Booker nodded

"The Lutece twins tried over one hundred times to work with Bookers and Elizabeths to set things right, one hundred times. You and I were special because we were different, We actually did something right, and I was able to go on to Rapture to exact revenge on the final Comstock, if I hadn't done that and had those experiences with Sally, I would have never met Atlas and found 'The Ace in The Hole' and Jack would have never been able to fight against the brainwashing"

Atlas wanted me to find the ace, the hypnotic suggestion that Atlas used against Jack, who would not only kill Andrew Ryan, but Atlas himself and being able to free the little sisters."

"And Sally"

"Yes, and Sally. Which ultimately, is why I did it, it's why I gave him the code. I almost hated doing it because of the violence, the plan crash but I think those were constants, I can't explain how but I don't think I could have prevented the plane from going down, the phrase made it happen sooner of course, but I believe those people's deaths were a constant"

"Is that the truth or is it easier to think that?"

"A little of both" Elizabeth responded with a smirk

"So with that out of the way, we're alive because like the Lutece's, we became scattered across multiple worlds because we died multiple times. I died twice in the same reality, causing a paradox that the universe couldn't think it's way out of, so it found a way to reset what it thought was broken. You and I are the constant"

"I still don't understand"

"Not surprising" Elizabeth joked

Booker was broken out of his reverie of thought by Elizabeth poking him in the arm "Booker?" She said

"Huh?"

"You've been staring off into space for five minutes"

"I was thinking"

"Ah, quantum physics again?"

"Something like that"

"Well shelve that for now and lets get to this case, he listed several locations where the events have happened, and he has a couple names on here" Elizabeth looked over the papers again "One of the locations is right across the street"

"That's convenient"

"Sure is" Elizabeth said "Look, I know you don't believe in this case, but come with me on this one. I don't want to do all this by myself"

"Well of course I'm gonna, can't pass up a curse" He said with a smirk "We'll head to this location and then maybe we'll talk to one of the names on here"

 

 

 


	3. The Shop Owner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DeWitt questions a man about Charles Jeffery's attack allegations, the man reveals something that blows the case to dust. But Elizabeth still wants to believe.

"The first name on the list is Whitaker Chambers, looks like he owns that record store across the street" Elizabeth said, walking in stride beside Booker, who pulled his hat lower on his face.

"You're not being very inconspicuous, Booker" Elizabeth said, stopping to look at him "Why are you fidgeting with that?"

"I uh, you know how I have these... memories?"

She raised an eyebrow "Yes, we all have memories." 

"Ah, sarcasm. a language I speak fluently" Booker said with a smirk "No I just... I _remember_ Rapture, I remember the record store there, Sander Cohen..."

Elizabeth's features softened "I know, it's a lot... I felt it when we destroyed the siphon, every single thing that every version of me had been through or felt." She put her hand on Booker's arm "But we're going to get through it, we are here now, not in Columbia, not in Rapture... We are here, and there is no Comstock, no Atlas..."

"No hours on Thursday?" Booker said, reading off the sign plastered in the window "It's closed"

"What?" Elizabeth said, peering into the window "It can't be closed, Someone went in here when we were across the street"

Booker fixed his hat again "Maybe they saw us coming and decided to close up shop"

"Maybe if you weren't wearing that hat, we wouldn't have to worry about people assuming you're the private eye from across the street"

Booker took his hat off, revealing his dark brown hair and the worry lines that creased the skin on his forehead  "Fine, hat off.  Lets see if this guy wants to talk"  He knocked on the door, pounding as loud as he could until finally a man of short stature came hobbling out of the back room and undid the locks on the door

"Sir, I'm Booker DeWitt and this is my associate Elizabeth, We wanted to ask you a couple questions" He put his hat back atop his head as the man gave them the once over

"You cops?"

"No sir, We work at the private detective agency right across the street.  We're just following up on a case, and you may have some information that we need"

"I can tell you right now Missy, I don't know anything about anything"  His eyes darted from Booker to Elizabeth, wondering what kind of people they were, no doubt.   He put his dirty hands into his stained overalls and whistled through his nose "I don't got to answer to no man or no woman. Good day to ya both" 

He tried to slam the door but Booker put his hand in between to stop the door closing "Sir, I'm really gonna need you to let us in." His eyes flashed a warning, the man may not have known of Booker's past exploits, the murders he had committed, the people he had tortured, but it was almost like the look revealed all that and then some because then the man fumbled anxiously with the door, opening it wide enough so that Booker and his associate could walk through.

"Thank you kindly" Booker said with a tip of his hat as he and Elizabeth walked in, the shop was in a state of disarray, records littered the floor and entire displays looked as though they had been broken and haphazardly pieced back together by someone who didn't know basic carpentry.  

"What happened here?" Elizabeth asked the nervous looking man, he was now fumbling with his tie. 

"Had a break-in I did, had another right after."

"Why would a record store have so many break-ins?" She responded and looked at Booker, who shrugged in a non-committal way, this made Elizabeth nudge him in the side and whisper "You're the detective, now _detect_ "

Booker looked around the room and took a deep breath, this place certainly looked as though it had been broken into, but the man in front of him didn't have the eyes of a robbery victim, it was just as possible he did it to his own shop so he could shy away from questions with an alibi.

"It doesn't seem like there was any sign of a struggle" Booker said, pointing back at the windows

"Had em replaced, I did.  Right after the first robbery"  This man wasn't tough at all, Booker would have him talking in minutes, the man was drenched in sweat and it soaked into his clothes at an alarming rate as Booker observed him more

"You had them replaced right after the robbery? How did you pay for it? I mean assuming they came here to steal what you had in the cash register"

"They did!" The man said, "They stole all the money in my register but I had some in the bank, I paid for new windows and that's the end of that"  He was getting more and more nervous by the second, Booker knew he was close to breaking

"Uh huh, and so you decided to fix your broken windows before replacing the what is possibly thousands of record shards I'm standing on right now?"

"I didn't want to make it easier for the next robbers to come in" He said, still nervous, still fidgeting. 

"But you said that you were robbed again after the first time" Elizabeth chimed in "Are you saying the second robbers didn't force their way in?"

"They broke in a different way, different place, they did"

Booker rolled his eyes "I've had enough of this" He grabbed the man by the collar on his shirt and shoved him against a dilapitated shelf "Man named Charles Jeffery claims he was walking by your shop when a homeless woman accosted him, Do you know anything about this?"

"No" the man shook his head fervently, Booker tightened his grip and started lifting him up the shelf, the man relented "Shit, fine okay! I saw the whole thing right from here."  Booker loosened his grip and brushed off his own outfit, as though he didn't want germs from the man in front of him to spread.

"I know Charles, he's in here a lot... Likes to pursue the records, I trust him so much I even had him restore one covered in scratches"

"You wouldn't think a record store would be very popular in this day and age"  Elizabeth said, brushing dust off a half broken record and raising an eyebrow.

"Not unless they offer something else" Booker agreed and shot a glare at the store owner.

"Fine" The man said in a nasally tone "I used to sell opium on the sly, and Charles was one of my valued customers"

"Opium?"  Booker asked incredulously "You've got to be kidding me"

"Nope, I ain't kidding." he said, shoving his hands back into his pockets "But that opium ain't got nothing to do with Charles getting attacked, I saw the whole thing" He repeated "He walked out this store and he was going to head to Old Millers Pub on west and get a drink or two, he told me, he did.    But some ragged looking woman attacked him, jumped him from who knows where.   It was like she came out of nowhere."

Booker tipped his hat once more "Thank you Mr. Chambers, That'll be all." He turned and left the old shop with Elizabeth in tow, once they were out of earshot of the man Elizabeth looked at Booker "Why did we just leave that?"

"Because it's a dead end case Liz, he said the man was on opium, it can cause hallucinations and paranoid delusions"

"But are you sure that's what caused it with this man? We don't even know if he was buying the drugs for himself"

"Elizabeth, if you're buying something addictive, you ain't gonna share it, take it from someone who knows that road like the back of my hand."

"Alcohol is different than opium" She shook her head "I can't believe you don't buy this case, something is obviously going on'

"If you want to keep chasing dreams, go right ahead Elizabeth, but mark my words, that man is just a junkie who doesn't know left from right anymore."

"Says the man who is often three sheets to the wind on a good day"

He shook his head "I'm going to go get some real work done while you play pretend"

 

 

 

 


End file.
